We are so blessed in Ukraine to have basic foods and to fill our stomachs with bread and potatoes because the stories and memories of those who survived through the famine of 1932-33 are still ringing in our ears. Our Nation lost millions of people in that single year of famine. We were raised with limited food availability in Soviet times and now 20 years later, we still struggle to put food on the table.

Traditionally, Ukrainians think of large amounts of food as a source of good health. Generally, we eat large portions of very low nutrient foods. Our diet consists of potatoes, cabbage, onions, with tomatoes, and cucumbers in season. Meat, if you can afford it, consists of chicken and pork. We also have traditional dishes like Ukrainian borsch, dumplings, and Chicken Kiev. Fruits such as apples, pears, plums, strawberries, cherries, apricots, and watermelon are available from late summer into the early fall. We cook a lot of soups and vegetable stews (using root vegetables). On the way home from work, we can buy meat in the underground passes or at a bus stop. Farmers sit under the hot sun all day trying to sell meat in the City to make some money. The flies cover the exposed meat and are all around it. People don’t worry if it’s safe, they just want some meat and this is their chance. Buying food at the open-air markets can be very risky due to the lack of cleanliness and sanitation. People take a these risks buying food this way, but they have little choice. Risk has become a normal part of life.

There are some foods our people have never tried. They have no idea even what they taste like: sweet corn, peanut butter, marshmallows, steak, bacon, casserole, lasagna etc. These things just aren’t available here and people never heard of them, except in Hollywood movies.

There is more food available now than in Soviet times, but it is too expensive for the average citizen. When we see a need, our natural desire is to help. A few years ago, faced with worsening reality of life in Ukraine, MPI prayed and then opened a Food Bank in Kiev. Today, we help hundreds of seniors, handicapped, poor, and families with many children through this ministry. We give them food for free! In doing so, we share our care and love of God with them, presenting the Gospel in a tangible way to all those in need, just like Jesus did (Galatians 2:10, James 1:27). This food gives our people hope that God hasn’t forgotten them and they can live and be saved. To us it is a great honour to be a conduit between Canadian churches, brothers, and sisters, and the needy people in Ukraine. With your help, we can give the people of Ukraine, seniors, and children the opportunity to hear the Gospel and meet their immediate pressing need – the need for food. Today only 20% of the income of the average Ukrainian is spent on food – housing and medicine consume most of the rest.

Last week my sister Inna gave birth to her 2nd child in Minsk, Belarus. I was visiting my parents at the time and was able to witness the care and services at the hospital. We all depend on and trust the medical care in our countries. Some countries have better medical care than others. Last week, I was once again reminded how blessed we are as Christians. We have got God on our side; He is with us everywhere and always. We can trust God to provide his care and provision, which sometimes comes through doctors. Other people only have a doctor’s diagnosis to look after them.
Today I would like to take you with me to a hospital in the former Soviet Union. It’s been 20 years since the fall of the Iron Curtain. In Soviet times, health care was free. Hospitals provided their services. They didn’t levy fees or require that you provide for your own food during your stay. Come with me and see how much things have changed. It is my hope that you will understand our situation better. Many Hospital buildings have been renovated on outside in the last 20 years, but inside there is 20-40 year old equipment and old furniture. When my sister was brought to the Hospital there were no doctors there, only nurses. She was already in labor and had her baby in the hallway. The nurse didn’t know what to do so she called for the cleaning lady who, thank the Lord, knew what had to be done. A baby boy was born, and 5 days later, Inna was checked out from the Hospital and went home to her family. Unfortunately, 2 days later she was rushed into another Hospital because she had high fever (+40C) and an infection. The same thing happened to her as had happened to my other sister when she had children in that same Hospital. The staff are not careful and infections are expected during every visit. In our country, we have no choice of what Hospital to go to. Every district of the city has a Hospital to serve the people within that district.
For a patient in the Hospital, nutrition is an important factor in the process of recovery. Some Hospitals I visited overseas provide a menu to their patients so that they can choose what food they want to have. I think that is incredible because a service like that is unbelievable here. We have to bring our own bedding and blankets to the Hospital while we are being treated. Food is another concern and a burden. Hospitals don’t provide decent meals or any meals at all. When my wife was in the Hospital with our oldest son Andy, I had to bring food every day for her to eat. There was no hot water for showers in the Hospital during the 3 weeks they stayed there. In my sister’s case, the doctors told my mom to bring home cooked meals every day for Inna to help with her recovery. Unfortunately, like many other people, my mom cannot afford to buy food and take it to Inna. She is now the sole caregiver for her youngest daughter who is now handicapped. Medicine is even more important. Yes, that’s right! You have to buy medicine yourself and take it to the Hospital, because they don’t have any medicine for patients in the hospital. Officially, our countries (Ukraine and Belarus) have free medical care. But in reality, the Government does not designate enough finances to provide hospitals with necessary provisions. At the same time, there is no such thing as medical insurance to cover the treatment, so if a person gets ill, they have no other choice but to buy the needed medicine or just forgo going to the hospital altogether. It is just too expensive to go there.
How about you? Do you take bags along to the Hospital with medications, bedding, and food? If not, you have a reason to thank God and pray for those who have to do just that. Today my sister is still in the hospital, her newborn baby is with her husband’s family and her older son with his aunt. We pray and hope for Inna’s soon recovery.

There are many volunteers who sacrifice their time and finances to teach children simple skills that will help them in the future. Their love and patience perform miracles in kids’ hearts. As they reach out to children, they face another challenge – kids are always hungry. Many of the children who attend classes in the Art Centre come from poor families where parents struggle to provide food for their kids. The first thing they ask the leaders at the Center is, “Can we have a cup of tea and a cookie, please?” CHC designates some finances towards the work of the Center but it is never enough. Cookies and tea, sometimes only hot tea – that is all that the centre can afford to provide. Not much at all! We asked our partners to help us to provide some snack food for the children. Again, we saw how dear the children are to the Lord. They have a special place in His heart.

When MPI first heard about the need for food, they were the first to respond. Heather Garrison sent over four large boxes filled with jars of peanut butter, Kellogg’s and Quaker granola bars with different flavours, fruit crisps and Ritz bits sandwiches, and more. These items are providing much better nutrition for the children than the simple cookies that we had before. It was precious to watch the kids when they tried their first peanut butter sandwich (which we simply don’t have in Ukraine). The children were excited when we gave them the granola bars, which they called “the big candy”- an excellent name for granola bars. Oh, boy did they ever like them a lot! Now, every time they come to the Center there is always a cup of tea and a little snack waiting for them. This simple act of provision teaches these children that God really cares about them and that His help comes in multiple ways and from different directions.

We all experience God’s care and provision every day. He has proven Himself faithful in many situations in life. God uses people who are faithful to love, bless and care for others. In faithfully doing good we can be the hands and feet of the Lord, and change the lives of these children forever. Let us be faithful and remember that every simple act of mercy shown to a child counts to the Lord!

Tamila Shander

The sun started to set and I hadn’t made any progress on my project. I tried to find the tool that I needed in local hardware store, but they didn’t have it. By the time I got to a car parts market, it was closed. I felt like the whole world was against me. I tried phoning my friend, Andrei Shaitar, but he was out visiting friends in another region of Belarus. I came home not knowing what to do.

When my Dad came from work, he took me to a hardware store where I finally found the tool I that needed. Later that evening, I was able to borrow another tool from a neighbor across the street that was working on his own car. Just before 10 PM, I had installed all the new parts, and the job was done! I felt great, and all the running around, waiting, backache, and worries of the day became insignificant. I also realized that I had discovered an important principle of ‘using the right tool for the job’ and ‘the love and care of my Dad.’

In our spiritual and physical life, this same principle can be applied as well. We often wonder what we should do if things don’t turn out the way we planned or wanted. Sometimes we lack faith and patience when we pursue God’s promises. Don’t give up! Your Heavenly Father is right with you. He will comfort you. He will change your disappointment into joy, your pain into gladness. He is your Father! It may be that you have an ongoing need, and you are not sure if you can endure anymore. Be encouraged! Your Heavenly Father will provide the right tool for the ‘job,’ at just the right time.

It is time for us to count our blessings, and not losses. Let’s not forget that all the tools are at our disposal and contained in one book – the Bible. When we read it, we discover strength and joy for our soul, wisdom and purpose for our life.

Andrei Shander

In Ukraine and Belarus today many children are suffering. From an early age, the children who grow up in our country experience privation. Children in Ukraine are among the weakest and most helpless to cope with the heartless and Godless world. The effects of chronic unemployment, an unstable economy, and excessive inflation have disproportionately affected children. Today, Ukraine is the number one country in Eastern Europe for forced indentured labour and sex slavery. Some Young children have even been sold into slavery by their own relatives! The Lord spoke to prophet Joel addressing this very issue (Joel 3:3).

The glorious vision of marxism and communism, which we were told would end the corruption of the past and lead us into a new utopia have only left our county in poverty and even worse corruption. Our country is still suffering from a soviet era centralized infrastructure, and experiences ongoing political turmoil. Even after the seventy years of communism ended in 1991, a part of the soviet, atheistic mindset still persists. The God ordained family structure, established to be a blessing, has broken down. Instead we have poverty, corruption, crime, drug abuse and alcoholism.

We live in a country where many children don’t have an adequate amount or quality of food. Too many live in orphanages, too many don’t have the love and care that they need. The Bible says that children are a gift from the Lord (Psa 127:3), but how these children are suffering!

The Lord has impressed His heart on us to visit and care for the children. During the Lord’s earthly ministry he corrected His disciples saying, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for such is the kingdom of heaven” (Mat 19:14). When we open our arms and hearts to these children, the Lord uses us to minister to them love and healing that they so desperately need. We have often seen this miracle – the children bloom like a flower and reflect back to us the Lord’s love.

When the Lord comes in His glory, will He say to us “I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me” and “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (Mat 25:35-40)?

If you haven’t yet given to support the Ministry to Children in Ukraine, please take this opportunity today.